International Service

International Service expands humanitarian reach around the globe and promotes world understanding and peace.

Rotary clubs can sponsor projects in other countries, seek international partners to support projects in their own communities, or individual Rotarians can personally volunteer at an international project site.

There are numerous International Service projects sponsored by Rotary which have been broadly classified under the Rotary’s six areas of focus:

Our Club makes a significant annual donation to the Rotary Foundation in support of its programs such as Polio Plus which has the objective of eradicating polio from the world. The Rotary Foundation’s Global Grants Program (formerly Ambassadorial Scholarships) continue to have a high priority in our club. We are generous with our financial support to Donations in Kind warehouse (DIK), Alola Foundation (East Timor), the Sumba Eye Program (Indonesia), Thai Educational Regional Agricultural Development (TREAD) (Thailand), PHOTO and WAGGGS for Leadership Programs throughout Asia Pacific.

Our Rotary Club of Hawthorn is very active in the use of Global and District Grants to further our international service. Some of our outstanding club projects made possible by grants have included:

Setting up the Phuket Kitchens for the provision of hot meals for school children

Building a school ablutions block in South Africa

Funding a bus to pick up the homeless in India

Sending a container of DIK goods to Vanuatu

The Rotary Club of Hawthorn in conjunction with the Districts of Bangladesh and Turkey were supported with a Rotary Foundation 3H Grant for US$280,000 to set up a literacy program for the Kurdish refugee women in Turkey. This was later extended to cover many in the Turkish Army who were illiterate.

Last year we partnered with the Rotary Club of Melton to send a team of trainers to a Leadership Development program for the newly established Girl Guide organisation in Myanmar, (Burma), an initiative which has enabled Myanmar to be admitted to WAGGGS (World Girl Guide Association).

Support for the rebuilding of nations devastated by the Tsunami and other natural disasters has been high on our agenda. The club and individual members have made lifesaving contributions to the Disaster Aid Program that has been able to provide shelter and basic needs for those affected by natural disasters in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Northern India and other regions.

In the past the club has provided voluntary labour which has assisted our nearby international neighbours to embark on projects which, without Rotary support, would not otherwise happen, such as the rebuilding of an orphanage East Timor.

Over a number of years the Rotary Club of Hawthorn has supported an NGO in Zambia supplying educational material, water bores, training in income generation projects, sanitation and household goods, mattresses and bikes. Several hundred thousand dollars worth of donated goods have been sent in containers to several provinces in Zambia including 55 schools. A special group of 10 Grandmothers have also been helped with small financial donations to help bring up their 75 orphaned grandchildren.

Our most recent international project was the financing and packing of a 40 foot container with school desks, chairs, books, clothing, cloth and sewing machines which was sent to the remote area of Baguia in East Timor.

This is the first step in our developing partnership with The Friends of Baguia.

We have some exciting international projects on the drawing board:

Working Bees at DIK

Our Donations in Kind warehouse is stocked sky high with donated goods, such as beds, desks, computers, sewing machines and cloth, shoes and clothing, all just waiting to be sent to needy communities, both local and global. Hawthorn Rotarians regularly participate in working bees, sorting and packing the goods for dispatch.

Lille Fro

For the past four years the Rotary Club of Hawthorn has supported the work of Lille Fro by sponsoring a destitute child to school in Ladakh in Northern India, and providing funds to build high-altitude greenhouses to assist in community sustainability through the growing of fresh green vegetables.

The Club has also donated funds to assist in disaster relief following the 2010 floods, and to fit-out the hostel to be built in the Zanskar mountains (Himalayas) next spring.

Educational Program in Baguia

This year we begin the implementation of a 5-year educational program in Baguia, in East Timor, working with the Friends of Baguia organisation. Our 5-year program will provide scholarships for university, technical trade and high school students, fund teacher training programs, and provide water tanks for clean drinking and cooking water.

Stretch targets could potentially include the rehabilitation of schools and providing new toilet blocks.

In 2015 the club plans to send two members to Baguia to determine the success of our initial program and implement ongoing educational projects.